Pentagon calls soldiers’ casket photo ‘totally unacceptable’

This photo posted to the Instagram account belonging to Spc. Terry Harrison shows a dozen soldiers around a casket draped in a flag at a National Guard training facility in Arkansas.

AP

Fourteen Army National Guard members are being investigated for taking part in a photo that appears to mock funerals for fallen soldiers — a “totally unacceptable” display, Pentagon officials told NBC News.

That’s in addition to a female soldier who officials said Tuesday they were suspending for allegedly posting the photo, which shows 14 guard members gathered around an empty, flag-draped casket, mugging for the camera with the caption, “We put the FUN in funeral.”

The photo was taken at a National Guard Training Center in North Little Rock, Ark., and includes guard members from a number of separate states.

“These are essentially kids blowing off a little steam, but given the serious and solemn nature of their mission, (funeral duty), their actions are inappropriate and totally unacceptable,” a U.S. defense official told NBC News.